BER Airport: improved and more people-oriented noise protection

Berlin Brandenburg Airport is expanding its noise protection programme. At today's meeting, the company's Supervisory Board decided to go above and beyond the current provisions and in future include kitchen-cum-living-rooms and conservatories in its noise protection programme. Furthermore, the Noise Protection Team set up just a few weeks ago under the direction of Noise Protection Representative Peter Lehmann will be given more leeway to take into account the personal circumstances of each resident. "Besides increasing the number of noise protection staff, today's decision is a key step towards providing good noise protection for our neighbours", said Prof. Dr. Rainer Schwarz, CEO of Berlin Brandenburg Airport: "We are improving and becoming more people-oriented." Today's noise protection package amounts to around €17 million.

The noise protection provisions agreed upon today go above and beyond both the specifications outlined in the planning permission decision and statutory requirements. They include the following points:

Local residents receive compensation to the amount of €150 per square metre for conservatories used for residential purposes

Local residents will immediately receive noise protection for kitchen-cum-living-rooms, irrespective of their size. Up until now, claims could only be made for rooms bigger than 10 m2, which greatly annoyed local residents

More consideration for personal circumstances of individual residents: a better financial package will make the airport company more flexible in borderline cases. Especially in the case of ceiling heights below those specified in the building regulations and rooms which have not been officially approved under construction law, but also in giving greater consideration to the personal circumstances of individuals.

Preservation of the status quo: existing claims shall remain effective. The airport company will continue to provide noise protection to those households that would have lost their right to claim noise protection in accordance with the planning permission decision due to improved flight route planning.

"The provisions passed today will enable us to better address the actual living conditions of local residents", said Peter Lehmann, who assumed the newly created role of Noise Protection Representative at the airport just a few weeks ago. "We were able to clear up many unresolved issues over the past few weeks by talking to residents face to face. More often than not it is minor details that need clarifying. Talking face to face with residents is the best way for all concerned to reach sensible and acceptable solutions." Lehmann also added that these one-on-one talks with residents have shown how misleading the so-called compensation clause is to many airport neighbours. "We have now scrapped the compensation clause and will not be replacing it. By doing so, we want to make it clear that further claims can be made should circumstances change."